REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, NIAMEY -- Thousands of people marched in Niger's capital Niamey on Tuesday to protest against Boko Haram after regional forces claimed successes against the Islamists in the country's south and in northern Cameroon.

But attacks continued in Nigeria, with the Islamists storming the town of Askira Uba in Borno state on Monday evening, razing homes and public buildings, forcing hundreds of residents to flee.

In Niger, Prime Minister Brigi Rafini led demonstrators under a heavy police presence, with snipers posted on roofs along the route, including parliament, and shops shut.

"Niger will be the death of Boko Haram," President Mahamadou Issoufou told a cheering crowd at the end of the rally.

"Nobody attacks Niger with impunity and Boko Haram learned that to its cost on February 6."

Niger's army has said that more than 200 Boko Haram fighters were killed that day when they launched their first raids into the south of the country, while seven soldiers died. But sources on the ground did not mention numbers and talked instead only of heavy militant casualties.

Tuesday's protest came a day after police said they had detained over 160 people suspected of being allied to the group in the border region of Diffa, which is currently under a state of emergency.

Central African leaders also met in Cameroon's capital Yaounde to discuss a joint strategy against Boko Haram, reflecting increased fears about regional security.

Cameroon's army separately announced that it had killed 86 militants and detained more than 1,000 people suspected of having links to the Islamists in the country's far north.

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